Social Science Theory, Operations Research, and
Computational Models:
National Security as a Nexus for Inquiry Approaches
Desmond Saunders-Newton
SaundersNewtond@ndu.edu
Current analytical approaches used by the Military Operations
Research community are limited in that they rarely incorporate any of the
Social Sciences in a rigorous fashion. Theoretical frameworks, instantiated
as computational models, provide a ‘transdisciplinary canvas’ upon which
to integrate methods and theory toward a common goal, i.e. national security
analysis. Special attention will be paid to the role of these tools
in the emerging operational concept called Effects-Based Operations.
[PANEL PROPOSAL: This panel focuses on the emerging role of the social science
theory, and computational social science approaches in particular, in the
development of security strategy and defense planning. The analytical communities
for military and security organizations are typically composed of scientists
from the “hard” disciplines. A changing security environment has illustrated
the necessity for new problem solving approaches. The incorporation
of social science research, given that the toughest problems faced by security
planners are deeply rooted in the actions and perceptions of individuals,
institutions, and nations, would greatly aid the community. The four presentations
constituting this panel will consider the role of social science theory as
enabled by emerging computational methods.]